


fool's gold

by resfeber



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Mermaids au, Pirates AU, mermaid zhengting, zikun are horrible and zhengting is an angel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-05
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-18 12:47:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14853047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/resfeber/pseuds/resfeber
Summary: AU where pirates zikun capture mermaid zhengting in their net and plan to sell him at the next port, but neither account for the fact that they would both fall in love along the way





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [taejinyo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/taejinyo/gifts), [zhuzhting](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zhuzhting/gifts).



> thank you to miss ash (@zhngyi) and abby (@zhuzhting) for the wonderful prompt and i hope i do it justice hehe

Blue. It’s the first thing Ziyi notices as he slowly takes in the sight of the boy - the thing - currently entangled in his net. He registers a few murmurs all around and a low whistle coming from his co-captain Xukun, but the rest is drowned out by the sight in front of him. The boy is shimmering, whether it’s from the reflection of the water residue on his skin or the reflections of the sun on his azure scales, Ziyi does not know. 

 _The tides are stronger than usual, Ziyi notes as he leans overboard and gazes at the vast horizon before him. It’s been nearly two weeks since they left port and they’ve yet to manage any significant raids or captures in the meantime. His crew members are getting impatient, he knows, but it’s not like any of them can control their course._  

_This unpredictability, the danger of not knowing what kind of conquests they’re able to achieve the next day while riding on these relentless waves, it’s what keeps men like him and Xukun going, thirsty for more of the thrill that keeps their blood thrumming through their veins. He doesn’t expect the same for the rest of his men, whose incentives are more of money and survival and it’s Ziyi’s job to keep that balance between the both worlds, to keep the thrill alive while also satisfying his crew’s needs._

_This, though, this might give him exactly that._

“Z, we hit jackpot this time,” Xukun’s arm draping across his shoulders sends Ziyi back to the presence.

A merman.

It’s almost outlandish to think about, but Ziyi is somehow unsurprised. For the years they’ve been on the waves, it would have been even stranger if they don’t encounter one or two of these sea creatures. A merman is just a first.

Ziyi continues to gaze down at his captive.

He’s beautiful, which is stating more than the obvious. The boy’s porcelain skin is adorned with jewels made of pearls and shells that are of every single color imaginable. His features are slender but sharp, large brown eyes covered by a sheen layer of dark lashes bat up at him in curiosity. Dark hair is matted down to the boy’s forehead, salty ocean water dripping down and making him look more miserable than he already is. His tail, which arouses the most curiosity, is a deep blue that reminds Ziyi of the ocean’s depth. 

“What’s your name?” Ziyi finds himself asking.

The boy snaps up in the direction of his captor and Ziyi could have sworn his eyes sparkled.

“Zhu, my family name,” The boy whispers, voice soft and fleeting and they would have missed it if it weren’t for the complete silence on the ship. “I am called Zhengting. Could you, um, please release me of this bondage?”

Ziyi quickly motions for his crew members to untangle Zhengting, and they follow his orders with reluctance. Xukun quickly pulls him aside.

“What are you doing? This is our chance, you know,” Xukun whispers. “We haven’t been able to track down any stray ships for days. If we sell this thing at the market in Port Pearl, I’ll bet you we can afford a whole new ship and even have enough leftover for a few whorehouses.”

“I know this, but do you think it’ll do us any good if we keep him chained up, especially not knowing what their kind is capable of?” Ziyi replies.

Xukun ponders for a moment and silently agrees, turning back to inspect their newest guest.

“Is this your home?” Zhengting asks, tail flopping a little and Ziyi finds it a little amusing given his situation. “This floating hut?”

“What?” Xukun is startled when he realizes Zhengting is speaking to him.

“This,” Zhengting taps twice on the floorboards as if to explain. “This dwelling made of trees that can float on water. Oak, right? I can smell it from an ocean away.”

“Er, I guess. You could say that it’s our home. We don’t really have one, though, we just go wherever.” 

“Go wherever? Oh, that sounds wonderful,” Zhengting gasps and moves, or flaps, closer to Xukun, who flinches back. “I wish I could go wherever but my confinements are within the Orient Tides only and never ever past where the humans are. Not even when my sisters are out hunting. It’s what father says.” 

“Wow, uh, that must be sad,” Xukun offers an awkward smile. “Well, at least you got away right?”

Ziyi almost finds it amusing how uncomfortable Xukun is and decides to spare his friend this once, stepping in between the man and merman.

“Zhu Zhengting,” Ziyi’s smile is warm, just welcoming enough. “Tell me, how did you get here? This is a long way from your home.”

“Of course, I followed your floating shelter!” Zhengting’s eyes light up up and Ziyi can’t decide if the merman is too naive or too trusting or both. It works our perfectly in his favor, though, as Zhengting begins to warm up to them and spew on about his journey and himself.

Ziyi doesn’t know much about seapeople’s hierarchy, but he’s shocked to say the least when Zhengting reveals to them he’s of royal blood, and the youngest of three siblings, two of which are mermaids. The chatty prince is all smiles when he talks about humans and how he often sneaks away to shore, hiding behind rocks to watch the fishermen at port and grabbing whatever leftover trinkets he can before sneaking back into the ocean. His treasures, he calls them.

If it were anyone else, anyone human, Ziyi would have found the habit completely absurd, but somehow, it seems almost normal for this to be one of the merman’s quirks. Things like plastic bottles, forks, even leftover pieces of rope become the most valuable playthings for the young prince.

This is also the reason why he’s here in the first place.

“So you’re telling me that you followed our ship, for nearly three miles, because you saw something shiny stuck to our rudder?” Xukun exclaims.

“Oh, but it looked like something I didn’t have in my collection yet, and I just had to chase it,” Zhengting pleads to them like a child getting caught with his hand in the cookie jar, and the two of them exchange an amused glance. “You don’t mind, do you?”

Xukun fakes a sigh, “I guess it’s fine. You’re already here anyway.”

Zhengting looks relieved and Ziyi nearly most feels bad for stringing him along like this. It feels like cheating a child.

“You’ve never been ashore, right? Where the humans are?” Ziyi leans in, almost too close for comfort and captures Zhenting’s gaze. “ _Above the water?_ ”

Zhengting gasps and his eyes are the size of two moons, red lips parting into a gentle gasp, as if Ziyi had just knocked the breath out of him. “No, oh no, never. I’ve only ever managed to sneak behind the rocks and watch. What’s it like?”

“I’ll tell you what, we’re merchants form the south. We’re gonna dock our ship in about a few weeks’ time.” Ziyi explains in deceitful earnest. It doesn’t matter much, though, because he knows Zhengting has caught the bait. “That’s when we’re gonna make a stop to trade our goods. If you don’t mind, we can take you to see it.”

“Would you like to?” Xukun steps up this time, smirk stretching across his lips as he puts a too friendly hand on the merman’s shoulders, the awkwardness from before seemingly washed away by the waves. Ziyi gives him a dirty look.

“Would I- why _yes_! Of course, yes! Are you certain?” Zhengting’s tail flips up in excitement, as if it’s moving and trembling along with his every word. “Yes! Oh my, I don’t even know what to say. You two are the kindest gentlemen I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.”

 _We’re the_ only _gentlemen you’ve ever met,_ Xukun wants to say, but he holds his tongue. This is too good of a chance, he knows the merchants and those circus owners will be tripping over their own coattails to bid for their exotic shipment this time. He’ll be damned if he lets the opportunity slip past.

“Well, we’d be happy to. For now, though, we’ll let you get some rest,” Ziyi says. “I assume you’d be more comfortable in the water, no? We can prepare a tub if you don’t-”

Ziyi’s sentence is interrupted by a small gasp and when Xukun snaps out of his thoughts long enough to look, the merman in front of them is no longer one. Instead, the shimmering azule tail from earlier has been replaced by a set of human leg and a male lower body. Zhengting pushes himself up by the railing and after a few shaky trials, he’s able to stand on his two new _human_ legs.

“Water would be fine, but I have these!” Zhengting exclaims and wiggles his toes for them to see, a proud smile adorning his face. “Look! They’re just like yours. Father said I can’t use them all the time, though, only for when it’s absolutely necessary.”

Once Zhengting is led off to his room, happily chattering and naming out every human item he notices on the way out loud, Xukun approaches his captain. 

“Is this your plan?” Xukun says. “He’s a handful, but I can see why this little ‘tour guide’ game could work.”

“We can’t let him find out,” Ziyi replies curtly, the welcoming facade immediately dropping. “It would ruin everything. Next port, we trade him off and go. Don’t dawdle. He’s a prince, and if there’s anything I know about royalty, it’s that they’re a bunch of stubborn bastards. If we have those mermaids sent on our tail with their poisonous songs, it’s over.” 

“Aye, aye, cap'n.”

••••••

Zhengting, they find after four weeks, is more than just a handful.

The boy insists that they tell him the name of every single thing he spots on the ship. A fork, a knife, a pole, Xukun’s sword, Ziyi’s badge, the wheel, the toilet.

 _Everything_.

Xukun finds himself feeling more drained after spending one day with Zhengting than he has ever been on any of their battles.

“Kunkun!” The nickname is what Zhengting has decided to give him (against his will) and it’s stuck ever since. Xukun plasters on a rigid smile when he sees the boy running toward him. “A _handkerchief!_ ”

“Yes, a handkerchief, it’s lovely,” The barely concealed sarcasm drips through in his voice, but Zhengting is too elated with his new finding to notice or care. He runs off to show Ziyi and the pitter patter of bare feet on the ship makes Xukun smile a little despite himself.

Zhengting may be a pain in the ass for some (all) the of the time they’ve been together, but he’s not horrible to be around, despite what Xukun would say at any other time. Ziyi jokes one night that Xukun might be falling for the beautiful merman already. Ziyi also gets a fork stabbed in his leg two seconds later.

Xukun finds Zhengting’s innocence and his hunger for knowledge about the human world nothing short of entertaining, and he uses it to his advantage, leaning in too close when Zhengting talks too much sometimes, about the sea or sisters or his dolphin friends, and tries to see if the prince would ever stop rambling long enough to get embarrassed (he does.) The heat rises in Zhengting’s cheeks every time he catches Xukun’s glance for a second too long, the latter’s lips quirking up into an amused smile as Zhengting blushes, gaze flashing back down to his feet.

Zhengting is curious about anything and everything and Xukun can’t help himself from playing around a little. It does come back to bite him eventually though.

“Zhengting, did you know that I get seasick often?” Xukun’s eyes are downcast and there’s a pout on his lips.

"Oh no, is it serious?” Zhengting is immediately on his feet, hands already all over Xukun’s face, checking for injuries and completely missing the fact that Xukun is a pirate. “Is there medicine? Do you guys have a physician?”

“No I’m fine,” A fake cough. “But you know what they say can heal seasickness? A kiss from a merman.” Another fake cough.

Zhengting immediately leans in and lands a wet kiss on Xukun’s cheek, who pulls back in shock. The prince holds his face in place, though, eyes hard and serious.

“Is it gone? This seasickness?” Zhengting asks and Xukun prays to Poseidon to stop his heart from jumping out of his chest. “I can try again.”

And he leans once more only to be shoved back by Xukun.

“I’m great, I’m all better. I- uh,” Xukun scramble onto his feet and escapes within a second, cheeks already burning up like a fever. “I gotta check the compass.”

Their dynamics don’t change much, still revolving around same old routine, except now they have another chatterbox on board and every crewman is working as hard as possible to get their ship to Port Pearl in time for the Auction, which is where the magic will happen. Xukun is excited, of course, this deal will garner more than enough gold to feed him and the rest of the ship for the rest of their lives. Something else, though, stirs in his stomach, and he blames it on the bad food (even though it’s the same meals they’ve had all throughout the journey.) When he looks at Zhengting’s blooming smile, the same nagging feeling grows just a little stronger.

Ziyi, unlike Xukun who wears his emotions on his sleeve, is all stoic iciness. The cracks show through, though, of course they do. His softer side, when he’s more of a teammate and a friend than an commanding captain, surfaces when he’s with Zhengting. Ziyi does not raise his voice, even when Xukun can tell he’s losing his patience. He carefully explains and answers every question Zhengting asks and sometimes, when Ziyi thinks no one is watching (which of course, someone, namely a certain co-captain, always is), he dares to crack a gentle smile when the merman babbles on a little too excitedly about the newest thing he’s learned that day.

Ziyi’s hard edges, from years and years of being on the sea and having the blood of hundreds on his hand, feel like they’re crumbling down with every loud laugh that emits from the smaller merman next to him.

Xukun thinks that if this Ziyi is just pretend, if this mellow facade is all part of their master plan to gain Zhengting’s trust, Ziyi is better off becoming an actor than a pirate.

Xukun likes Zhengting. He won’t deny it. What he refuses to acknowledge is the way Ziyi is getting too close to the merman for comfort, it leaves a sour taste in his mouth and he tells himself it’s because Ziyi is beginning to forget their original goal. After all, who has ever heard of a captor befriending his prisoner?

••••••

Ziyi comes back to his cabin one night to be greeted by Xukun’s towering presence in front of his door.

Xukun looks up at his entrance, but his eyes hold a dangerous gleam. 

“What is it, Kun? Finally decided to rebel?” Ziyi says without moving a step further. “Don’t want to share the wheel anymore? You’re not usually this reckless.”

Xukun laughs, but there is no humor.

“Don’t talk to me about being reckless when you know exactly what you’re doing, Z,” Xukun steps closer to his captain. It’s a warning. “I never expected this from you, out of all people. Don’t think I didn’t see it, this lover’s act you’ve put up, it’s not an act anymore, is it? You’ve grown attached to him.”

It doesn’t take much thinking for Ziyi to know who Xukun is talking about.

“And what of it?” Ziyi doesn’t deny the accusation. He knows he’s more honest to himself than that. Xukun, though, is another matter, and Ziyi knows it will take more than just a fight to get the same truth out of his friend. “Are you telling me that tomorrow, as soon as dawn cracks, you can sell him at the Auction and brush him off our plate, as if the last few months didn’t happen?”

The silence drags on and neither refuses to make the next move until Ziyi closes the distance between them, “Tell me, Xukun, and be fucking honest for once. Not to me, but to yourself. If I told you to come down into his bunk right now, chain him, and pass him to another pirate or merchant or whoever it is that you so desperately need that gold from, could you do it?”

Ziyi feels Xukun’s answer before he could hear it. He forgets that Xukun can pack a hard punch when he needs to. Ziyi is quicker on his feet though, and he knocks the other man down on his knees with a kick before slamming his body down to the floorboards.

“Shut your mouth,” Xukun seethes, fingers trembling. “That was the original plan anyway. He was never supposed to be anything more than our goods. You know he’s worth more than his weight in gold. It’s your fucking fault that you had to become all fond of him and get attached.”

“You’ve always been blunt, Xukun. Your honesty is your weapon and you’ve never been afraid to pull the truth out of everyone, our prisoners, our allies, so why can’t you do the same for yourself?” Ziyi’s voice rising with each syllable and the rawness in it makes Xukun flinch. “We can’t do that to him. Not anymore. You _know_ this better than I do.”

Xukun flips himself upright and stares Ziyi down, balling his hands into fists and Ziyi doesn’t retaliate, body tensing to ready himself for another punch that doesn’t come.

“What are you _doing?_ ” Zhengting shrieks and stumbles in front of them, squeezing his body in front of Ziyi and it effectively stops Xukun in his tracks. “Why are you hurting each other?”

The merman's pupils are shaking with fear and fury and confusion.

“I- it’s nothing, Zhengting, why are you awake?” Ziyi smiles at the merman despite the blood slowly trickling down his chin.

“It’s _not_ nothing, look at you! Kunkun, Ziyi, apologize, _now_.”

“Me?”

“Apologize?”

The two captains reply at the same time, the almost childish command shocking the both of them.

“Yes. You don’t hurt your friends. Ever.” Zhengting’s eyebrows are knitted tight and Xukun wishes he didn’t find the angry expression on the boy’s face adorable.

Ziyi laughs in spite of the situation and squeezes a hand on Xukun’s shoulder, “You’re right. Sorry, Kun. I was a little too rough.”

Zhengting smiles expectantly at Xukun, but he refuses to give in, choosing instead to shake off Ziyi’s hand and storming off to the deck.

“Don’t worry about it, he’s just throwing a tantrum.” Ziyi takes off his coat and drapes it over Zhengting. It wears like a huge blanket on the boy’s smaller frame. “Go back to your room before you catch a cold.”

Zhengting purses his lips before handing the coat back to Ziyi, “I’ll be fine, let me go check on him. You shouldn’t let your friends go to sleep sad or angry.”

The merman runs off after Xukun and Ziyi doesn’t know why there’s a tinge in his chest as he watches the merman's shadow disappear into the night.

••••••

“Kunkun.” 

“Don’t fucking call me that.”

Zhengting flinches back at Xukun’s harsh tone but he takes a careful step forward, just close enough to see Xukun, but far enough not to intrude his personal space.

“Xukun. You’re hurt,” Zhengting takes another tentative step and when Xukun doesn’t make a move to tell him off, he closes the distance in between them. “Let me help you.”

Xukun looks up to the sounds of a bottle shattering and Zhengting running a shard swiftly across his arm.

“What are you doing?” Xukun yells. “Are you crazy?”

Zhengting is determined, though, as he holds Xukun’s arm down in place and places his own cut over Xukun’s scratches so his blood would drip into the wound.

“It’s an old trick that my grandma taught me. The reason why the royal line is so important is because our blood can heal wounds,” Zhengting’s smile is kind even though the bleeding cut on his arm looks nothing less than painful.

Xukun thinks about how much more money Zhengting would be worth if everyone knew about this, merchants and doctors offering up entire fortunes just to claim Zhengting as their own, to be used, experimented, and he's surprised to find a strange kind of anger bubbling up at the thought.

He stays silent, though, eyes following Zhengting’s nimble fingers as he patches up the scratches with his own shirt and wipes himself down after. Xukun can’t help but think that this prince must be an idiot because the cut Zhengting gave himself looks even more serious than his own injuries.

“The fight,” The merman speaks again, voice careful and poaching this time. “Was it about me? Did I do something that made you angry?”

Zhengting is staring at him now, searching for an answer, eyes glazed over with sincerity, and it makes Xukun feels like the pressure of the world will be on his entire shoulders if he says the wrong thing and it somehow makes the merman cry.

Xukun sighs, “No. It’s not about you. Ziyi and I just had a disagreement. It’s stupid.”

The prince doesn’t look convince but he doesn’t want to push his limits, choosing instead to plop down next to Xukun.

“You’re kind, Xukun,” Zhengting says. “I know you don’t believe it but you are. Thank you.”

Xukun wants to say it’s his mind playing tricks on him when all he can think about his leaning in and capturing Zhengting’s plump lips with his own. He can’t help but think that Zhengting here and now, shoulder barely pressing to his and soft voice making his heart tremble, is right where he needs to be. The thought sends chills down his back because if he falls down this hole, there would be nothing pulling him back up and it could easily leave him to drown.

Xukun’s never had anything to lose before, Ziyi being the closest thing to family he’s ever had, so he’s scared, terrified, but as his breath hitches in the back of his throat at Zhengting’s smile, his vision blurring out everything but the merman for a couple of seconds, he thinks that maybe, Ziyi just might be right.

••••••

The sky tonight is covered by a blanket of stars and their ship is gently rocking in tune with the dark waves, time seemingly slows down just barely enough for them to all catch their breaths. Zhengting joins the two of them on the deck after he’s forced to put all the utensils he not-so-discreetly stole back to the kitchen. (“You guys have a million of these things! It’s so unfair that I can’t keep one.” “There will be more amazing things at the marketplace, Zhengting, now please put the forks back, we only have enough sets for each person and you’re already sharing with us.”)

It’s a comfortable silence as Ziyi quietly watches Zhengting’s sandy hair being pushed back with the force of the wind. It’s moments like these where he can look at him, _really_ look at him that he really does see how the merman is a prince in every sense of the word. His eyes are a sparkling brown that swirls and fades and kaleidoscopes if they stare long enough, which they do. Zhengting gazes across the vast surface of the waves and a serene look washes over his features.

The sight is so beautiful it startles the two of them into silence.

Where others might have seen the ocean as an unknown depth, swallowing and consuming careless sailors with the misfortune of falling into its grasp, Zhengting sees a home, safety, where the creatures that roam its depths are his friends and the water that’s been in his entire life brings a comforting peace.

Comfort and peace, though, is not enough, never enough, and that’s where the problem lies. Much like the human men accompanying him, Zhengting yearns for more, more than what his home can give him. He yearns to break out of the familiarity and shell that his father and sisters have enclosed him in in the last twenty years, and it's this fresh air, this wind, this sound of _feet_ running across the creaking floorboards and shouts of commands that have begun to make him feel alive, and the young prince is afraid he won’t ever want to come back.

“You know, I’m glad I met you two,” Zhengting says, eyes still faraway, but both of his hands slip into Xukun and Ziyi’s. Neither pull away. “Humans are not all good, like you guys might think.” 

Ziyi stiffens, but he keeps his attention on Zhengting.

“Before, humans and seapeople coexisted as one,” Zhengting fondly smiles as he retells the story. “My mother used to tell me stories of when mermen and mermaids would swim up to shore, all the way up to the sand - I’ve only ever touched sand once in my life, can you believe it? - and they would converse and play and sometimes even fall in  _love_ with humans. It seems like just a dream now, though.”

Zhengting trails off and his voice is sad, which sounds so wrong and out of place that it makes the two of them look up.

“And why’s that?” Ziyi asks even though he knows the answer.

“The peace between and land and sea people lasted until humans decided that our lives were worth a price,” Zhengting sighs. “That’s the whole reason why my father is so dead-set about keeping me down there, as far as possible from your people.”

Zhengting senses the uncomfortable silence that descends on the atmosphere and quickly brightens up, pulling the both of them in for a tight hug.

“Don’t take it the wrong way!” The prince grins and his eyes crinkle until they disappear. “I’m telling you this because you guys are my first land friends and I trust you. Of course I know you wouldn’t hurt me." 

Xukun coughs out a loud laugh that makes even him cringe, “Right, that would never happen. Because you’re our friend.”

Zhengting gasps softly at the word and his eyes becomes impossibly wider. “Yes. _Friends_. That’s what we are.”

The label puts Zhengting on cloud nine for the rest of the night and after many, many stories from Xukun and Ziyi of their travels and the mundane everyday activities of humans, Zhengting bids the both of them goodnight with matching pecks on their cheeks and a giggle before running back inside his own cabin, almost tripping over his own human legs.

The feeling of Zhengting’s lips linger and so does the gnawing guilt that plagues both of their cloudy hearts.

The next morning, their navigator announces they will be arriving at Port Pearl in exactly three days.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And yeah, I let you use me from the day that we first met  
> But I'm not done yet, falling for your fool's gold

It’s spring, which means that Port Pearl is bustling with merchants and fishermen coming in with new shipments from the different seas. The new season comes with the smell of fresh bakeries being opened after a long winter hiatus and the sounds of different languages muddled in a multicultural frenzy at every stall.

Zhengting jumps down from the deck with an excited shriek the second they dock. Xukun thinks that if the boy was human, he would have at least one broken limb by now.

“Kunkun! Ziyi!” The merman seems to have remembered his shipmates’ existence and turns back, smiling from ear to ear. “Look!”

Ziyi just replies with an exasperated smile while Xukun rolls his eyes.

“Zhengting, don’t get lost,” Xukun grumbles. “Follow us, we have to find a place to rest before you can run all over the place.”

The rest of the crew scatter off to their own places, while the two captains check into a dingy inn that the two captains have been considered regulars at from the last few years. The owner never questions what they’re here for and it’s why they always come back. This time, though, their hostess raises an eyebrow at the curious new addition who’s leaning in to smell the leather couch she’s put in the reception room.

“Your friend, Captain Wang?” The burly woman says without looking up from counting the scattered bills in her hand. “Doesn’t seem like he’s from your crowd.”

“Yes, he’s… a new member,” Ziyi explains curtly before catching the room keys thrown at him in one swift motion.

They both turn to see Xukun stopping a frowning Zhengting from putting a handful of what look like soil and a flower in his pocket.

“You can’t just pick plants off the ground and take it with you!”

“Why not?”

“It will die, idiot.”

“But I don’t have this back home!”

"It will _also_ die if you bring it into the ocean!"

Ziyi approaches the pair and puts a hand on Zhengting’s shoulders as subtle consolation and he sees Xukun scowling at him out of the corner of his eyes and he can already hear Xukun's complaints about how he spoils Zhengting too much, “C’mon, Your Highness, let’s go.”

“Where to?” Zhengting replies.

“Didn’t you say you wanted to go see the marketplace? I’ll show you something good.”

Zhengting looks like he’s about to burst at the offer and quickly trails behind Ziyi, uprooted flower long forgotten.

••••••

Zhengting is delighted, truly and in every sense of word, hopping from stall to stall and tugging on Xukun and Ziyi’s sleeves. They cater to him of course, although one more grudgingly than the other, buying the merman anything and everything he asks.

Zhengting’s head (and feet) are abit of a whirlwind at all the noise and colors and humans, _so so_ many humans, some even talking to him and offering him delicious food that he’s never seen before. The prince doesn’t think he’s ever been this happy in his life. Zhengting tugs the two captains along and chatters excitedly, pointing out every single detail and nook and cranny of every item that he sees.

It’s wonderful, really, and he doesn’t know why his father would ever think to keep away from this world.

The sky becomes darker eventually as night settles into into itself, and Zhengting, much to the worn-out captains’ relief, have started to yawn, his speech slurring a little and eyes gently dropping in tiredness.

“Zhengting, do you want to head back?” Ziyi asks, all gentle calm and patience. “It’s getting late.”

“No,” Zhengting mumbles while stifling a yawn. “This place is lovely, I want to stay here forever.”

Ziyi just hums in response, soft smile still adorning his feature as he continues to stay close to the merman.

“Hey, it says there’s a festival here tonight,” Xukun says, pointing to a bolded sign that reads ‘Moonlight Festival.’ “Have you ever been to one?”

Zhengting blinks awake immediately, eager to know more, “A festival? What’s that?”

“It’s a celebration with lots of people and singing and music and food and dancing,” Ziyi chimes in. “You know what dancing is?”

Zhengting perks up at that, body already bouncing in excitement, “Oh, of course! I was trained at the royal academy since I was young and it’s the one thing I love nearly as much as humans. I don’t know how well it'd go on these legs but I could try.”

The image of a young Zhengting dancing away in his little tail to an audience of merpeople, exuding sunlight and warmth, makes its way into Xukun’s mind and he gets the sudden urge to see it in person.

It’s like Ziyi could read his co-captain’s mind, already one step ahead as he pulls on Zhengting’s wrist and tugs him forward. “Well, what are we waiting for then?”

••••••

The festival is embellished with different red-themed ornaments and light strings, representing the people’s celebration and hopes for a successful new year. Ziyi thinks that in all the times he’s set sail underneath the the night sky, not a single star has shined as bright as Zhengting. The merman is positively glowing as soon as he hears the music, feet already tapping into the rhythm of the drum beats.  
  
Xukun and Ziyi watch as Zhengting’s slender figure sweeps the makeshift dance floor gracefully, limbs stretching and molding into the perfect shape of the melody, moving with not only the years of experience carved in his bones, but with desire and expression. His eyes are closed and he’s telling a story, the muscles of his face contorting into an agonizing expression with every maneuver as if his feet are stepping on glass.  
  
Xukun understands next to nothing about dance, titles of techniques and movements as foreign as a new language in his brain, but as he feels the air in his lungs being knocked out with every step and spin, he knows the performance is no less than perfect.  
  
The music fades as the final note of the harp lingers in the air and gently descends into deafening silence.  
  
They can’t move. The only thing the two of them could hear is a low buzzing in their ears and the erratic panting from the direction of where Zhengting is. Neither notice the boy getting up until they blink into focus and gather themselves enough to speak.

“That was,” Xukun coughs. “Something.”

Ziyi pats the merman's head, “You’re amazing.”

Zhengting beams at that, basking in the attention and compliments.

They’re interrupted by another song, more mellow this time, and Zhengting is greeted by Ziyi’s outstretched hand in this direction.

“May I have this dance, my prince?”

Zhengting can only respond with flushed cheeks and an embarrassed laugh before taking the captain’s invitation. Their bodies are wrapped in each other, stepping in slow circles, the need for proper dancing has long since dissipated. Zhengting is just happy to just rest against Ziyi’s chest and let the man guide him, nulling over everything that’s happened today.

It’s one of the moments that the prince knows will stay with him forever as they both waltz lazily, Ziyi humming along to the music and Zhengting breathes him in, happy to stay like this for as long as time would let him.

The song does eventually end, though, and they fall apart, the two of them heading back to the sidelines, where a sulking Xukun is waiting.

“Never took you for the dancing type, Z,” Xukun mocks.

“I’m sorry, we should’ve asked you to dance, too, Xukun,” Zhengting says apologetically.

Xukun rolls his eyes and scoffs, “First of all, I hate dancing. Second, how stupid do you think that would look? The three of us wobbling around like fools. If you think-”

The captain doesn’t get to finish his sentence because he’s already pulled out onto the dance floor, hands of a certain merman wrapping gently around his shoulder. It can’t quite be classified as dancing, more of a ‘we can sway and pretend we’re actually dancing’ type of thing, but Zhengting’s eyes are lidded with sleepiness and the lantern lights are illuminating his face with pretty patterns, so Xukun’s throat sort of closes up, and he can’t find it in himself to push the prince away.

“C’mon, Kun. Relax,” Zhengting murmurs against his right ear, which is already turning fives shades of crimson. “Let’s have fun.”

Xukun can feel Zhengting’s heartbeat, resting comfortably against his body as they dance slowly, peacefully, skirting around the other bodies orbiting around them. It’s only Zhengting he sees, though, always.

“Thank you for tonight,” Zhengting hums, lips centimeters from his collar bones, “Even though you took that flower away from me. And the forks, too. Don’t think I forgot.”

Xukun’s laugh rumbles through his chest, hands rubbing circles in the merman’s hips while pale thin arms are wrapped around his own neck. “You’re amazing.”

Zhengting raises his head to look up at him, smiling, “You’re amazinger.”

“That’s not a word, fishie.”

“Neither is fishie.”

Xukun just huffs, not bothering to continue the argument, but no one can miss the fond looks he sends Zhengting’s way.

The song rings its final chorus and the trio finally decides to head back to the inn.

“I hope I can do this again,” Zhengting says as they make their way back down the now empty road, both of his hands nestled in the captains’ bigger ones, the noise and buzz of his adrenaline finally dying down to a slow thrum, making his voice softer, lacking its usual pitch of eagerness. “Today, I mean. I want to relive it again and again and again.”

It’s silent, but the wind suddenly picks up, and it’s loud enough that Zhengting misses the soft ‘me too’s’ that are murmured a little too quietly, carried away by the breeze of the night.

••••••

It’s nearly dawn when Zhengting is pulled awake by strong sets of hands, slithering around his mouth and twisting his arms uncomfortably. These are not Ziyi or Xukun’s touches and Zhengting tries to spring up and thrash free to no avail. They outnumber him, rough fingers gripping red into his skin and holding him down much too hard, too quickly.

Zhengting doesn’t even get a chance to scream out for help before a container is pushed past his lips and its content, a burning liquid, runs down his throat. Zhengting can barely register the muscles of his human legs coming together to form the familiar blue of his tail before he loses everything to the blackness.

••••••

The Auction is filled with people of all different classes, some carrying various barrels and boxes of shipments that are filled with items being put up for bid tonight. Xukun and Ziyi know well by now, after too many years in the business, that less than half of these goods have been obtained by legal means. Ziyi thinks that the place stinks of unshed blood emitting off of these filthy aristocratic pigs’ fur-coated bodies.

Ziyi thinks it’s almost ironic because it’s the same aristocrats he loathes that they’re trying to pry money from. It’s people like him and Xukun that do the dirty work, but the real murderers are the ones that don’t lift a finger at all. Pirates kill, steal, raid and bring the proof of their conquests back to be traded to gold, which becomes their fuel for the next journey out to sea. In the end, the same cycle repeats. Ziyi takes another look at the crowd of spectators waiting for the show to start, and he finds himself wondering where the line draws between him and and them. 

“Z, let’s go. Shipment’s ready,” Xukun reminds him and the two of them head to the back of the stage, where the sellers are supposed to be waiting.

Curtain is called and the two pirates watch as each item is being put up for bid one by one, prices shooting up to impossible numbers the rarer and more unique each item gets. Eventually, just as the last of their items are sold and as Xukun makes a move to get up, a coffin-shaped box is wheeled out, ready to be put on stage.

An odd feeling of familiarity washes over him as he eyes the wooden box. Something doesn’t feel right. Xukun can’t think of anything that size that could be put up for bid, they’ve been here the entire time.

“Captains, saving the grand finale for last, huh?” A voice booms from behind them and they both turn to see the host of the event approaching with a knowing grin. It stirs an uncomfortable feeling in their stomachs. “Your crewmen came in early this morning and said you guys hit real jackpot. I told them I should get early access first but they wouldn’t let me. It better be good, gentlemen.”

Ziyi furrows his eyebrows, thoughts running a mile a minute.

“But we didn’t-”

Jackpot. Jackpot. _Jackpot._

_“Z, we hit jackpot this time,”_

_“You know he’s worth more than his weight in gold, It’s your fucking fault that you had to become all fond of him and get attached.”_

Ziyi’s feet are hitting the ground and charging toward the closed box before his brain could comprehend what happened, the panic fueling him to run faster, faster, faster. He registers the slight panting on his heel that lets him know Xukun is close behind but the blood rushing to his head refuses to let him think of anything else.

Zhengting. Zhengting. Zhengting. Zhengting. _Zhengtingzhengtingzhengtingzhengting_.

Xukun lands a punch of the man wheeling the box before it could reach the stage and Ziyi’s fingers are gripping the lid before the man even hit the ground.

“Zhengting? Zhengting?” Ziyi’s voice is rising in shrill panic every second the silence continues to drag on. “Zhengting, answer me.”

With enough force, the coffin is finally busted open and Ziyi is frozen at the familiar sight of the tail in view. Zhengting is unconscious, face turning paler by the minute and he can’t breathe because what if-

“Ziyi, snap out of it, we gotta get him back before anyone notice. _Now_ ,” Xukun is pulling at his arm and Ziyi flinches out of his trance, steady arms already slipping around Zhengting’s waist and draping his coat over the frail boy.

It takes them less than an hour to reload their cargo and get everyone on deck, sails set and ship moving, Port Pearl disappearing until it’s only a peck on the horizon.

“Everyone on deck, now!” Ziyi’s voice shatters the silence and the sound rings throughout the ship.

“I want to know who took Zhengting to the Auction, and I better hear it fast or every single one of you walk the plank,” Ziyi is seething, the fear and desperation from their incident earlier morphing into a type of anger he’s never felt before.

Silence.

And then, “Why does it matter, cap?”

A gunner steps up, facing Ziyi head on.

“What did you say?”

“I said, why does it matter? We were gonna ship him off to the merchants or one of those aristocrats anyway, why does it matter if we do it sooner or later? Or is it because he's one of your whores now?” The man blurts.

Xukun strides forward at that and the gunner realizes too late that his question had been a mistake because a second later, a smack is heard ringing through the boat and the man kneels over from the deafening pain spreading through his abdomen. Xukun makes a dusting motion on his pistol, face screwing up in disgust before leaning over the man’s body.

“Listen to me, head captain over there might be lenient, but I won’t be, and it won’t cost me one cent to send you swimming with the sharks. First, there is order on this ship and it’s the reason why every single one of you fuckers are still alive, so watch your mouth,” Xukun threatens. “Second, if I ever see or hear about any of you laying a hand on him again, it won’t be just the water you’ll be swimming in, it's your blood, understand?”

When the rest of the crew is dismissed and Ziyi’s head finally begins to stop pounding, the two of them make their way down to the cabin where Zhengting has been placed earlier.

Xukun gives Ziyi a meaningful look before reaching for the door handle, but it cracks open before he could. The two of them are greeted by the merman, both human feet intact this time.

Ziyi huffs out a sigh of relief, “Thank god, Zhengting, we thought something happened to-“

“Get away from me.”

“...Zhengting?”

The merman finally looks up and his eyes are shiny in the worst way possible, tears welling up and making their way down his cheeks. He’s shaking, trying to wipe them away with violent frustration. Xukun’s heart sinks, throat clenching painfully at the sight.

“Do you think I’m stupid?” Zhengting cries when he stops hiccuping long enough to make out a proper sentence. “Befriending you, giving you my trust, do you think that makes me stupid?”

“No, no, Zhengting, we never-” The words are jumbled together and they can no longer decipher which of the two are saying what, the only thing they know is that they have to stop the Zhengting’s tears before he breaks even more. “Listen, it was a mistake.”

“Of course it was, this whole thing was a mistake,” Zhengting furiously rubs at his eyes once more, and the harsh motion makes Xukun cringe, but he doesn’t make any move in fear of upsetting Zhengting even more than he already is.

“Zhengting, listen-” Ziyi starts.

“No. I’ve done enough of that, don’t you think?”

In the five months they’ve been together, they’ve seen Zhengting angry, excited, happy, kind, but not Zhengting like this, lips curling down in a frown, gaze icy and cold to the bone, staring them down like they’re enemies instead of friends. Xukun knows they deserve every bit of it.

“We can explain, _please,_ ” Ziyi pleads, and the sincere, hopeful look in his eyes makes Zhengting almost give in until he thinks about how these are the same eyes, the same voice that had lied straight to his face and gave him pretend promises that were never meant to be kept.

“Just tell me one thing,” Zhengting says, and he hates hates hates that his voice is still shaking despite how strong he’s trying to be. “Were you really planning to sell me off?”

The explanations are stuck in the back of their throats and the captains both know this is the one battle they've lost, any and all excuses dying on the tips of their tongues.

Zhengting’s eyes are downcast and his shoulders sag in exhaustion, like he just wants to give up and dissipate into thin air, “I’d like to be alone, please.”

“Zhengting…” Xukun tries again but Ziyi tugs him backward with a slight shake of his head before the door slams in their faces.

They leave, but not before hearing the haunting sobs echoing through the other side of the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come here zhengting baby i'll protect u and beat zikun's asses


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I know your love's not real  
> That's not the way it feels, that's not the way you feel

“Someone get the beeswax!”  
  
The echoing bellow that rings through the tranquil silence of the night startles Ziyi awake, body shooting up by instinct and hand reaching for the sword kept by his bedside.  
  
When he reaches the deck, however, Ziyi realizes that the problem currently leaving his ship in chaos cannot be remedied by a weapon. Out of the corner of his eyes, he can see one of his gunner leaning overboard, eyes glazed over in a hypnotized trance. There are men running all over in a panicked frenzy, crewmembers frantically raising their sails in an attempt to escape the entrancing music that’s creeping up on them by the second.  
  
Ziyi grabs a crewman running past and demands an answer out of him, “What the hell is going?”  
  
“Sirens, captain, a whole lot of them have her surrounded. We don’t know how many there are.”  
  
Ziyi curses.  
  
He’s only ever encountered the sea monsters once in his life, back when he’d been just a sailor. His ship had set sails for merely two fortnights before the creatures tracked them down by their scent after a careless night of drinking. It’d been his first and last shipwreck. Not a single living person was left on those treacherous waves besides himself, only floating corpses of men that used to be.  
  
Ziyi clenches his fist. He would not let the same thing happen to his ship as long as he’s alive and breathing.  
  
He spots Xukun on the crow’s nest, furious commands leaving his lips.  
  
“Distribute the beeswax, quickly! Get off your ass and help your men! Shoot them down! Get the cannons ready!”  
  
Ziyi grabs a chunk of wax for himself before bolting down into the storage room where gunpowder is kept for these kinds of emergencies. He grabs two barrels before darting back up the stairs but the sight of a door swinging open stops him in his tracks.  
  
_Zhengting._  
  
Ziyi pushes the barrels to a passing gunner with instructions to carry them to the gunport for the defense crew before bolting back onto the main deck.  
  
“Zhengting? Zhengting, It’s not safe up here! Zhengting! Where are you?”  
  
The crowd is getting more hectic as the sirens’ melody intensifies, but no matter how much he tries, Ziyi cannot find the familiar silhouette of the prince’s body. A man takes a reckless, wobbly step toward the plank and hurls himself overboard, body immersing in the deep blue before any of them could react. Another sailor hauls himself up and plummets into the dark waters. They only spare a second to watch in horror before the panic only spreads more. Anyone in contact with the water, in _their_ territory, is beyond saving and whoever tries to will suffer the same fate.  
  
When Ziyi finally spots Zhengting, the mermaid is on the very edge of the quarterdeck, slender frame looking like it could be blown away by the wind any minute. His heart feels like it’s lodged in his throat.  
  
“Zhengting!” Ziyi calls. “Step down from there!”  
  
Zhengting flinches and turns to look at him, large eyes hardening into a glare.  
  
“What do you want, Ziyi?”  
  
“Zhengting, I-“ Ziyi takes a deep breath. “Look, I’m sorry. There’s really nothing else I can say that would suffice. I’m sorry. But, please, it’s dangerous up here. Come down.”

He hates that he still thinks Zhengting is beautiful even when he’s angry, the fabric of Xukun’s night shirt wearing too large on his skinny body and tattering in the wind. The areas below his eyes are darkened most likely due to lack of sleep, but the merman looks nothing less than ethereal.  
  
“‘Ting! Don’t listen to those humans! All they do is lie and cheat,” A male voice shouts suddenly from what seems to be below in the water. “Come back to us, please. His Majesty isn’t angry, he just wants you to come back home.”  
  
Zhengting’s eyes dart back and forth between Ziyi and the source of the noise in hesitation and the captain takes the opportunity to stride forward, pulling Zhengting behind him.  
  
When Ziyi peers into the water, he’s greeted by two mermen, both looking like they are of teen age in human years.  
  
“Hey, asshole! Yes, you in the ugly feather hat!” The one with silver hair sneers at him. “Hand the prince back to us, filthy kidnapper!”  
  
The other merman in blonde hair and what looks like a red-tinted tail only glowers at him.  
  
“Minghao, Chengcheng,” Zhengting breaks out of his grip and plasters his body against the frail railing that only looks weaker and weaker against the force of the wind. “Tell the fleet to stop the attack.”  
  
“But-“  
  
“ _Now_. Are you going against my direct orders?” Zhengting commands authoritatively, shoulders tense.  
  
“They won’t listen to us until you come back,” The silver-haired merman pleads again. “Princess Chengxiao and Princess Jieqiong have another army of sirens on stand-by. Please, Zhengting, you know you can’t go on like this.”  
  
Something in Zhengting’s eyes flickers, an attempted spark of rebellion maybe, but it soon diminishes, “If I come back, they will retreat, yes?”  
  
“Yes,” They both bow. “Your family is waiting, my prince.”  
  
_Family_. The word makes Zhengting’s chest squeeze painfully. Ziyi and Xukun have carved their way into his heart and created a home with the three of them in the short few months they’ve been together. They redefined the word beyond just what he’s known within the confines of the Orient waves, only to turn around and shatter him with their painful truth and Zhengting doesn’t know how he would be able to come back from a second betrayal next time around. He doesn’t think he wants to find out.  
  
“Zhengting, wait, wait, please. Stay,” Ziyi begs once more. “Don’t-- don’t go.”

He wants to do everything in his power not to let Zhengting jump into those waves because god knows what will happen if he does. If Zhengting leaves, he might not come back, and Ziyi doesn’t think he can quite bear that, not yet, not now. So he begs and pleads and grabs his arm, but it’s only when Zhengting looks up at him, blinking back glistening tears, and asking _why_ , why should I stay Ziyi, give me one good reason, that words fail him. Because, really, why should Zhengting stay with a liar like him?

“I-- you’re our _friend_.” Ziyi makes one last-ditch attempt at a plea, but it doesn’t seem enough to convince Zhengting, and sorrow shines through in the way his lips purses, solemn brown eyes darting everywhere but his face. Zhengting takes one last look at the deck in chaos, at Xukun who’s fiercely trying to return order to his ship, at the human world that he’s adored so much and finally, at Ziyi.  
  
Then, Zhengting jumps, and the only thing that remains where his body used to be is an afterimage of shimmering blue.

••••••

  
Xukun is a reasonable person. That’s why he only punches Ziyi three times when the head captain tells him that Zhengting has dived overboard during the attack and they most likely won’t ever see him again.  
  
“You’re a fucking hypocrite, _Captain_ ,” Xukun’s tone is mocking, all bite and venom and simmering anger as he towers over Ziyi’s slumped body against the wall. “You want to sell him. Then you want him to stay. And now you let him go? Make up your fucking mind.”  
  
Ziyi wipes the warm liquid trickling down the corner of his mouth, but all the fight seems to have left his body when Zhengting did.

“Yeah, you’re right.” is all he says, and Xukun scoffs and pushes his way to the cabin without another word.  
  
The two captains feel it immediately, even as the ship is bustling with activity and noise, there’s an absence, something or rather some _one_ missing. At dawn, the pitter-patter of Zhengting sneaking out to watch the sunrise when he thinks no one is awake is no longer there. Instead, it’s replaced by a silence that’s only filled with Ziyi and Xukun’s own deafening thoughts. **  
**  
Their crew notices the merman’s disappearance of course, but after the incident from Port Pearl, they decide that it’s better keep their tongues to themselves if they don’t want to lose them.

They continue on because it’s the only thing they can do. More than half of the crew members survived after the sirens goes mute and disappear in the span of seconds, as if they’d been turn off by a switch. None of them know why, but they are not ones to question their own luck, only taking the fact as it is and movinging on. At the end of the day, sails have to be set, cannons reloaded, and their ship steered toward a new direction.

••••••

Xukun hates Zhengting.

He hates everything about the merman; his stupid brown eyes that are always shining and sparkling up at him like he has all the answers to everything in the world. Xukun hates his ugly laugh that’s always too loud and how he can still hear it ringing sometimes when there isn’t enough work to make him busy, to make him forget. So definitely, this prickling feeling his chest that makes him stay up just a few extra hours until exhaustion consumes him must be hate. 

He hates Zhengting because the merman’s presence alone makes him feel like an idiot. His throat goes dry when Zhengting look at him a certain way and each time the prince so much as brushes his hands there are sparks shooting through his bloodstream.

It’s a dangerous thought and it makes Xukun want to claw these feelings out because while Zhengting’s presence makes him feel foolish and he hates everything about the naive merman, him not being here is so much worse and Xukun can’t remember what it was like when Zhengting wasn’t around.

For Ziyi, Zhengting’s absence is less like a wound and more like an itch, probing and nipping at his conscience until he’s unable to think about anything but the merman. Ziyi gets it, he knows he was wrong, knows he’s made one of the worst decisions of his life, but he can’t go back, can’t fix it, can only watch everything spin out of control, leaving him cracked and falling apart. He doesn’t break easily, it takes a lot to shake Wang Ziyi up, but Zhengting’s done it without really trying, simply walking away most likely for good. And, yeah, he knows everything’s gone to shit, but he can’t _fix_ it because Zhengting disappeared before he had the chance to, so he throws himself into commanding and raiding, the only way he knows how to.

The results of Ziyi’s efforts manifests in chests after chests of gold and unimaginable treasures, their success coming up in numbers unprecedented, and although the entire crew is over the moon, Ziyi can’t help but think that he would trade all of this wealth and more if it means Zhengting would smile at him again.

The ship still moves on, more physically than anything, drifting from port to port and continuing on with their lives as if their net had come up empty on that day six months ago.

••••••

It’s the seventh week after the sirens’ attack when they hear anything of the sea creatures again.

They had decided to stop at Port Ruby, a territory just barely south of the Orient Tides. Ziyi and Xukun had allowed their crewmen a free night with some extra gold as bonuses for the successful week. The two captains themselves, however, decided against the drinking parties or checking to any brothels, instead, they visit a dining house. 

The restaurant is dimly lit and small, but the atmosphere is rowdy as fishermen and merchant filter in and out, boisterous laughter and discussion making the mood more homey.

Ziyi orders six jugs of beer and waits for Xukun to sit down. They don’t engage in small talk, it’s never been necessary between the two of them.  

“Z,” Xukun starts after he downs his second bottle, “Did he say anything? Before, y’know…”

Ziyi’s eyes snap up to meet Xukun’s. It’s the first time the co-captain has spoken about the incident or Zhengting at all since their fight.

Ziyi clears his throat, “No, no, nothing. He just asked me why he should stay, and I couldn’t give a proper answer, so that’s that.”

Xukun swallows another big gulp and is about to reply when a conversation from a table behind them catches his attention.

“- _mermaid. Blue tails. I heard their blood can cure all kinds of diseases, but we won’t know until we see it._ ”

A peek over Ziyi’s shoulders reveals to him a middle-aged man that looks like a working-class merchant. Xukun puts a finger to his lips and nods his head in the table’s direction.

“ _Where did you hear this anyway? Who even caught it?_ ”

“ _Pirates, who else? It’s only those savages that can take on the monsters. We’re just here to reap the benefits. I’ve heard that the thing is already prepped safe and sound in one of their cargo for a private show tonight.”_

Ziyi flinches and thinks of the worst. It’s been months since they’ve last seen Zhengting, there’s no way-

Xukun abruptly gets up and slams a few bills on the table before making a leaving motion with his head. Ziyi quickly catches on and follows him outside.  

It’s another hour before the merchants are finished with their meals and start to make a move to leave. Before they could even step foot out of the main road, though, two pairs of hands slither around their throats and drag them into the darkness. 

“Evening, gentlemen, we have a few questions for you,” Xukun presses a dagger swiftly against one of their throats, smile shiny and threatening in the pitch black night.

“Cut to the chase, Xukun,” Ziyi says and turns to his captive. “We want to know the exact location of this transaction and more about this mermaid you speak of. Unless you want to pick which body part you won’t be missing.”

It doesn’t take much more interrogation than that to pull the information out of the two merchants and they let their cowering victims go after they get what they want.

Ziyi and Xukun make their way to the address of where the transaction is supposedly taking place, a dingy brothel that’s nearly broken down with its age. They wait for another two hours until a carriage slowly approaches the inn and a coffin-like box is carried out by two men. The large crate is eerily similar to the one that was used for Zhengting and the memory makes their blood run cold.

The pirates stay hidden until they’re certain that no one else would be coming and entering. Only then do they make their move. Xukun quickly takes out the guard in front and they sneak inside soundlessly. It only takes minutes for their combined forces to render every person useless.

Xukun pushes at the lid until it opens and doesn’t realize he’s been holding his breath until he finally sees that the merman lying inside the box is not Zhengting. He looks barely alive, though, most likely due to the influence of the same drugs that had brought out Zhengting’s tail.

Ziyi points a sword at the man who seems to be the buyer of the transaction.

“You will answer me if you know what’s good for you,” He says. “What did you buy him for?”

“I-- I run a traveling circus,” The man stammers, sweat already forming atop his forehead. “And business has been slow lately, so I thought--”

Xukun slams his sword down on its pommel with a loud bang, “So you thought you would buy a mermaid to spice up the main event, hm? What did you have planned for the show? Was it just an exhibition, or maybe you were gonna make him do some tricks? Balance a little ball on his head?”

The man shudders, but he wisely keeps his mouth shut in fear of escalating Xukun’s anger. 

After they check for the merman’s condition, Ziyi orders them all to leave with a few more threats that involve the murder of their entire extended families. Dawn is barely beginning to break when the two captains are able to safely carry the merman to the shore near their own ship.

“W-who are you people? Where am I?” The merman wakes up groggily as the drug begins to wear off.

“Go home. It’s not safe here.”

Realization slowly dawns on the boy’s face as his expression morphs from recognition to fear to apprehension.

“Didn’t you capture me?” He responds after a beat, while also slowly crawling backwards. “Why are you just letting me go?”

Xukun rolls his eyes, tone impatient, “Are all your kind this slow? We’re not the ones who kidnapped you, stupid. We said go, so just go.”

The merman looks taken back but doesn’t ask again and plummets himself into the water, quickly blending into it as one.

“Ironic, huh?” Xukun chuckles humorlessly. Ziyi looks at him in confusion. “We were the ones that wanted to be like them. Those people. You know, I saw the bags of gold they took with them and counted. Five. I wonder how much _he_ would have been worth.”

Xukun’s empty statement makes Ziyi think about Zhengting in the same position, tied up, drugged, unable to decipher his surroundings, and fated to be sold to strangers as a possession, as if his existence could be traded by a mere currency.

The thought of Zhengting, _their_ Zhengting who treasures the simplest, most mundane human items, who collects bottles and forks and spoons, who rescues sailors after shipwrecks, the Zhengting that has trusted a couple of pirates with his entire being merely because they were his first human friends, confined to a glass box infinitely smaller than his vast home could ever be. Their Zhengting, used and exploited by the humans he’s adored so much. 

It makes Ziyi’s blood boil.

“I want to fix this, Xukun,” Ziyi whispers. “I can’t let him leave just like that. We have to find him.”

Xukun is silent and the both of them watch the sunrise as a newfound resolve blooms inside them. After a long while, Xukun props himself up on his arms and offers an outstretched hand to Ziyi with a glint in his eyes.

“Captain’s orders.”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, thank you so much for reading and I do appreciate comments so please let me know what you thought! If you have questions or just want to talk, i'm on twitter at @tinyvocaiist and @fuxixis ! :)


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